Reed had been bogey-free in his opening 64. In round two, though, he followed gains at the second and third with dropped shots on the fifth, sixth and 14th. A birdie at 16 at least ensured he got back to even for the day.

That was a significantly better effort than Mcllroy, who was four over after two holes when he found water twice on the second on his way to a triple-bogey eight.

The four-time major champion also made a seven on the eighth hole and turned in 42 to be six over for his round and the tournament. A one-under back nine left McIlroy five over and 16 shots off the pace.

Ryder Cup hero Francesco Molinari is even further back at seven over, while the world’s top two, Brooks Koepka and Dustin Johnson, are also well back at two and three over respectively.